If you don’t have a priest, sheikh or pastor that you know well enough to ask to Marry you, you’ll likely start having to search for a celebrant –a process which can be incredibly intimidating.
Having a celebrant that both you and your Groom-to-Be are comfortable with is essential, because, not only will this be the person that will lead you through your vows, but they will also be responsible for setting the atmosphere at the ceremony.
So, to help you find the right celebrant for you and your hubby, here are our six tips.
Ask any recently Married friends or family members for their recommendations on celebrants and do some research online to create a shortlist of options. Then, arrange an initial meeting with each to figure out whether you are both comfortable with them. If you find the conversation between the three of you flows naturally, this is a sign that you’ve found the right one.
In Australia, there are really only a few sentences that legally need to be said in order to make the Marriage official; the rest of the ceremony can be completely personalised to you and your Groom; so your celebrant should ask you how much of the Wedding you’d like to personalise. If they only offer a cookie-cutter ceremony, whereas you’re after a number of unique additions, they might not be the celebrant for you.
The celebrant will set the atmosphere for the ceremony; they can make it feel traditional and formal, or they can lighten the mood and create a relaxed Wedding. Consider the celebrant’s personality, because if they’re quite uptight and rigid, they’re probably not going to be able to pull off a super casual ceremony.
Believe it or not, you can ask your celebrant to wear a certain colour or attire, in fact, we recommend giving them a dress code to abide by. It can look awkward if the celebrant arrives at the Wedding in a three-piece suit, when the rest of the guests are wearing cocktail.
Make sure that your celebrant will manage all of the legalities when it comes to the Wedding, because nothing’s worse than finding out years down the track that the Marriage is void because the celebrant didn’t file the right documents or didn’t have up-to-date qualifications.
If you or your partner are religious and want to include a bible reading in the ceremony, it’s best to check that your celebrant is happy to accommodate.
Main image from Parisa and Hryers Wedding. Photography by Duke Photography.
